STEVEN LABRIE
Baritone
BIOGRAPHY
STEVEN LABRIE, a native of Dallas, Texas, has attracted attention for his beautiful timbre, expressive singing and dramatic presence on stage. Mr. LaBrie was named among the five leading lyric baritones to watch by Opera News.
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This season, Mr. LaBrie continued touring, as Special Guest Vocalist, with the classical crossover group Il Divo for their A New Day Tour. On August 17th, 2023, Mr. LaBrie was named an official, full-time member of Il Divo. The group continued its A New Day Tour, with Mr. LaBrie as its new member in selected cities in Europe, Australia and Asia, October thru November 2023. This tour was followed by the A New Day Holiday Tour in the United States in December 2023. A much anticipated 20th Anniversary tour is expected starting in May 2024.
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For the 2021-2022 season, performances included a concert with pianist Adam Nielsen for the GENVAS Venetian Arts Society of Ft. Lauderdale and his debut with Central City Opera in their production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. Other engagements this season included Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore (cover) with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; and Adam's Le Postillon de Lonjumeau with the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. In February 2022, Steven was engaged as special guest vocalist with the multi-national classical crossover vocal group Il Divo, for their Greatest Hits Tour. The United States and international concert dates were scheduled from February through December 2022.
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During the 2019-2020 season, Mr. LaBrie was to make his role debut as Mr. Maguire in Tobias Picker's Emmeline with Tulsa Opera and role/company debuts as Heger/Jäger in DvoÅ™ák's Rusalka at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. Additionally, his engagements included his debut at the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage of Carnegie Hall with The Cecilia Chorus of N.Y. singing the baritone solos in Orff's Carmina Burana and Walton's Belshazzar's Feast. Mr. LaBrie was to also return to Jazz at Lincoln Center to sing Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen with MasterVoices. Additionally, he was to sing the baritone solos in Mendelssohn's Elijah with the St. George's Choral Society of NYC. Regretfully, due to COVID-19 cancellations, the only performances that took place were Rusalka with the Tiroler Festspiele Erl and the NYC Elijah.
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Engagements for the 2018-2019 season included his return to Opera Omaha in his role debut as Belcore in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore; his company debut with Tulsa Opera in the title role of Rossini's Il barbiere di siviglia; and his company and role debuts with San Diego Opera in Heggie's Three Decembers and Teatro Nuovo as Valdeburgo in Bellini's La Straniera. Additionally, Mr. LaBrie made his debut in concert with the St. Hugh-Steinway Concert Series in Miami, Florida and in Mexico with the Orquesta Filarmónica del Estado de Chihuahua.
During the 2017-2018 season, Mr. LaBrie made his debut as Escamillo in the Sarasota Opera production of Bizet's Carmen as well as his debut with the Florida Grand Opera as Ríolobo in their production of Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas. Mr. LaBrie also made his debut as Alfonso in Donizetti's La Favorita with the New Amsterdam Opera and performed the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Opera Steamboat. Additionally, he returned to sing with the San Antonio Symphony in Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah and was featured in a recital of French music for the Brooklyn Art Song Society and a Night at the Opera concert with the Sacramento Philharmonic. Mr. LaBrie also made his return to Carnegie Hall in the Three Baritones Sing American Songs concert, on the occasion of his CD release.
Mr. LaBrie's 2016-2017 season, featured performances of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Hong Kong, Marcello for Opera Omaha's production of La bohème and the Count in North Carolina Opera's Le Nozze di Figaro. Additionally, he made his debuts with the San Antonio Symphony performing the baritone solos in Orff's Carmina Burana and with the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa in the baritone solos of Stravinsky's Pulcinella. He was also featured in a Richard Tucker Foundation Rising Stars of the Opera concert in Beaver Creek, Colorado and with the Tulsa Symphony in the Brahms' Requiem.
In the 2015-2016 season, Mr. LaBrie made his debut at Lyric Opera Baltimore as Figaro in their production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. He also was featured with soprano Erin Wall in recital for the George London Foundation Recital Series and made his Carnegie Hall debut as the soloist in Matthias Pintscher's songs from Solomon's garden with the American Composers Orchestra. Additionally, he was the baritone soloist in Ginastera's Estancia with the New York City Ballet both in New York City and on tour in Paris.
Prior to that, Mr. LaBrie reprised the role of Schaunard for both his return to the Dallas Opera and his debut with the Washington National Opera. He also performed Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Jacob's Pillow Festival with Jessica Lang Dance in Ms. Lang's evocative ballet The Wanderer. Additionally, he returned to The Kennedy Center to sing the baritone solos in Carmina Burana with The Catholic University of America Symphony Orchestra and Choruses in a concert celebrating the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music's 50th anniversary.
Mr. LaBrie has received numerous awards and honors including a 2016 Top Prize award and a 2013 Encouragement Grant from the George London Music Foundation in 2016, Second Place from the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition as well as the Judges Award with the Opera Index Competition. In 2010, he was an encouragement award winner in Washington, DC for the Metropolitan Opera National Council. He was also awarded First Place in the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition and Second Place in the Palm Beach Opera Competition in 2008, where he performed in the grand winner's concert accompanied by the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra. That same year, he was awarded Second Place at the Parkinson Competition and was a recipient of the Sergio Franchi Scholarship. In 2006, Mr. LaBrie was a Third Place winner of the Dallas Opera Vocal Competition, where he was also awarded The Mozart Award for best aria interpretation. Additionally, he has been awarded the Grand Prize at the Florida Grand Opera Young Patronesses of the Opera Competition, Fourth Prize at both the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation Competition and the Giulio Gari Foundation Competition and recently the 2015 Gilda Morelli Prize for Best Vocal and Dramatic Interpretation of an Aria at the Concurso Nacional de Canto Carlo Morelli in Mexico City, which was expecially chosen by tenor Francisco Araiza
